VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time | Archives: 1, 2, [3], 4 ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 11:31:26 10/09/05 Sun
Author: Greg
Subject: Re: Plastic Shamans, Crystal Twinkies & Wannabes
In reply to: WarHorse 's message, "Re: Plastic Shamans, Crystal Twinkies & Wannabes" on 17:28:17 09/18/05 Sun

I find this interesting nevertheless. I am one of those people who has some Indian genetic blood- Kootenai, specifically, but no significant cultural heritage. I do not call myself an Indian, I do not appropriate Indian symbology or ritual, I do not claim Indianness on college applications etc. I would look like a charlatan at a powwow. All in all I am a white man and I take neither pride nor shame in the facts of my birth.

However, I have an ex-girlfriend- not remotely Indian genetically or otherwise, who lives in Boulder, Colorado, who is very taken by a self-styled Indian shaman who calls himself Eagle. This fellow makes his money by conducting sweat lodges etc. which are generally very popular among the lily white middle class Boulderites, who as a rule are desperate to cover themselves in indigenous artifacts of whatever culture is to hand in order to appear sophisticated, exotic, and wise. This is typical new age fluff and I can't respect it but I don't get too excited over it.

However, recently my ex-girlfriend went through a naming ceremony in which she selected her own "Indian" name. She calls herself Thunderbird Woman now (she does not have, to my knowledge, a name in an actual Indian language) and has changed her voicemail etc. to reflect this. She is dating a new fellow, also white, who calls himself Snow Bird. I have remained friends with the girl for a while because she is all other ways very nice. However, after having her go after me about my opinion for a while, I finally gave it to her, and our friendship is ending because of it.

My problem is now explaining the roots of my objection to her in a fair way. Far be it from me to get offended on behalf of an ethnic group to which I do not belong, but I still object to her assuming a title with mythological implications after spending a year hanging out in a teepee (that's right) on the weekends and going through some simulated Indian rituals of unspecified tribal origin. My question to you is, what would you say to this woman if you had the change? If you met a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman who called herself Thunderbird Woman and went on teaching tours around the country trying to educate people on vague spiritual truths of native American tradition, what would you say to her? Is imitation the sincerest form of flattery or is she stealing something from you?

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

  • Re: Plastic Shamans, Crystal Twinkies & Wannabes -- Nia, 09:32:05 07/13/06 Thu
    [ Contact Forum Admin ]

    Forum timezone: GMT-8
    VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
    Before posting please read our privacy policy.
    VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
    Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.